You’ve been to antenatal classes, you’ve watched the YouTube videos, you’ve Googled (BfT’s top tip…. ..step away from Google! Contact us and we’ll give you great information and send you brilliant links) and you’ve made our feeding choice. You’re going to breastfeed your baby. It’s the optimal feeding choice, it’s natural, our bodies our designed to do it!
But still that little niggle remains. What if I can’t do it? What if the baby won’t latch? What if something goes wrong? We know it’s not unusual for breastfeeding to take a few days to get going, or for babies to be sleepy or reluctant to latch in those early days. So we may be worried there may be a clinical indication that baby needs a top up, and we worry our baby will starve if we don’t take formula with us to the hospital
So we pack ‘it’ in our hospital bag. That ‘Just in case’ formula milk. The thing with ‘just in case formula’ is that it winks at you at 3 o’clock in the morning. It whispers ‘use me, you’re so tired, I’ll help your baby sleep’, or ‘use me so you know your baby is getting enough’. Knowing it’s there means we can give it without having a discussion about how this can impact on our breastfeeding. Many women will make a choice to use some formula, but often it’s not as an informed choice as we think, if they don’t know there’s another option available.
We know to get breastfeeding off to the best possible start, we need to keep artificial supplementation out of the picture as much as we can. We know sometimes mums want to, or babies require supplementing, but with what we know about formula milk having the potential to stretch babies’ tummies and create allergic sensitivities within the gut, wouldn’t it be ideal if this supplementing wasn’t done with formula.
So, how can we do this?
Well, we can harvest our colostrum.
Colostrum is the first milk we produce, its packed full of antibodies and is the perfect first food for babies. If a baby is reluctant to latch at first, we can hand express colostrum and feed this to baby. It generally perks them up and encourages them to feed (think of it like an energy drink for babies!). But did you know we can do this before we even have our baby? We can start that hand expressing at home and collect our colostrum in syringes, freeze it and bring it to the hospital. If baby does require supplementing, your milk is there ready. You have your ‘just in case’ milk. You have ‘just in case’ colostrum
We wait until baby is 37 weeks before we start colostrum harvesting, as expressing has the potential to induce labour- so another great reason to try it if you are passed your due date and serving an eviction notice! We discuss and show you how to hand express at our antenatal workshops, and we can also provide you with a colostrum harvesting pack. More and more ladies are giving it a try, so get in touch if you think it’s something you’d like to do.
Like the old saying says, we reap what we sow, so let’s sow the seeds of a great breastfeeding journey by starting with a colostrum harvest!

First published on www.facebook.com/breastfeedingtogether on 17/3/2019 as part of the Sharing Sunday series.

Well, my breastfeeding journey has finally come to an end after 18 months with my eldest and 3 years with my youngest. I was very lucky never to have really suffered with mastitis or anything else that can make breastfeeding so tough. The Breastfeeding Together team are fabulous and Wigan is very lucky to have such dedicated volunteers. I wish all breastfeeding mums well on your own personal journey and urge you to enjoy every moment as, in the blink of an eye it will have ended.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzz

Babies need quite a bit of sleep and we know the safest place for them to sleep is in their own safer sleep space. However, many babies respectfully disagree and think the absolute perfect place to sleep is in your arms or on your chest. And I suppose it is. It’s biologically very typical, and there’s nothing ‘wrong’ with a baby who wants to do this. It can often work well during the day and with a bit of ‘tag-teaming’ and taking turns, it can work well during the night too. It can often feel that breastfed babies wake much more frequently (which itself is a protective factor against SUDI) and you are up all night either feeding or because your baby doesn’t want to be put down.
Eventually the initial adrenalin that got you through the first few days wears off. As much as lying awake staring at the amazing creature you’ve created is wonderful, it’s not sustainable. The exhaustion hits, and you need to sleep. You have bags for life under your eyes and you truly understand why sleep deprivation is used as torture.
This can be particularly challenging when your baby won’t be put down to sleep. Families are often told simply to stay awake, but we know long term, continuing trying to stay awake doesn’t work. Lone parents don’t always have the luxury of ‘tag-teaming’ and it’s not as doable one one or both parents return to work. So it’s important that families have options.
Many families will choose to bring baby into bed with them either for feeding or as a way of everyone getting some sleep.
It’s not about having an across the board ‘no, don’t do it’ but it’s about ensuring families have all the information to make informed decisions about their family’s sleeping situation.
At BfT we do more than just breastfeeding support. Ask us about information regarding safer co-sleeping/bedsharing. Ask us about the associated risk factors of SUDI. Talk to us about how to put your baby down to sleep safely. Attend our antenatal workshops, send new grandparents to our Grandparent’s workshop. Take our UNICEF leaflets. Look at the links we share. Talk to us. Let’s make this week the week to have those conversations. Let’s talk about safer sleep.

First published on www.facebook.com/breastfeedingtogether on 10/3/2019 as part of the Sharing Sunday series.

Having recently moved into the borough I’ve got to say how impressed I am with the support that is available here in Wigan. Being a new mum in a new area is overwhelming, but it’s been made easier by the support from BfT.
Having supporters who are mums, and are somewhere between friends and healthcare professionals is very useful. The support I’ve been given has been great.
My baby struggled with weight gain to start with but I was reassured and got many of my questions answered from the visits and calls.
The supporters were really there for me gave me practical support and guidance.
They kept reminding me about the key principles of breastfeeding and built my confidence.
I was given a plan alongside with links to useful information, I never felt on my own during this journey and felt the support was completely tailored to mine and my baby’s needs.
As a first time mum this support has been invaluable and I feel empowered now with my breastfeeding. My confidence now with my baby has improved and I’m still exclusively breastfeeding Tiber-Leo.

First published on www.facebook.com/breastfeedingtogether on 5/3/2019 as part of the Topic Tuesday series.

Breast milk. It’s white right? Or perhaps a bit more creamy or yellowy in those early days, but we do generally think about milk being within that vanilla colour scheme. It can be quite a surprise then, on expressing that that’s not always the case, and if it isn’t does that mean something’s wrong?

Nope. Let’s file that beautiful colour variation under perfectly natural and pretty amazing.

Human milk comes in a variety of colours.
That early colostrum is often very yellow in colour due to it being so concentrated.
If your older baby is unwell you might see it return to this more yellowy colour as your body responds to your baby provides them with those wonderful antibodies.

Your milk is also very cleverly flavoured by the foods and drinks in your diet. Research shows this makes babies much more likely to be more responsive to solid foods when they are ready to be introduced, as they’ve already had a ‘taste’!

This favouring can also come with a bit of colouring too!

Some food dyes, fruit drinks, and gelatin desserts have been associated with milk that is pink or pinkish orange.

Greenish milk has been linked to consuming green veg, so if you’ve had a heavy night on the spinach you may have what we affectionaly refer to as ‘Kermit milk’!!

And while the jury is out on whether carrots can make you see in the dark if your diet has a lot of of them or other yellow-orange vegetables, particularly if you eat them mashed, there can be high levels of carotene in your milk, which can turn it a bit yellow or orange!

Pink milk may indicate blood in your milk. Sounds pretty grim, but this often just comes from a bit of damage to the nipple or within the breast. Seeing blood in your milk is of course worrying, but it is not harmful to your baby as your blood and milk are made from the same stuff, so you can keep on feeding. We’ll perhaps just check that latch for you to see if we can improve things at the source before you have a little vampire!

Brown milk may be caused by (the delightfully named) Rusty Pipe Syndrome or even just rusty pipes!
As our breasts grow and stretch ready for and during those first few days of breastfeeding, extra blood flows into to our boobs and it sometimes leaks into our milk ducts which can make your milk look brown or rust-colored (like water from a rusty pipe ?). It should clear after a few days as more milk flows through your breasts, and it’s again fine to keep on feeding.

So don’t be too worried if if your milk has more colours than Dulux- remember if we weren’t expressing we’d never even know, so go ahead and let that rainbow milk flow!

First published on www.facebook.com/breastfeedingtogether as part of the Sharing Sunday series.

So I’m writing this Sharing Sunday for all the new mummies. I myself am a brand new mum to my 6 week old baby boy. I wish I had joined Breastfeeding Together’s ‘Connect and Share’ Facebook group before actually giving birth. The support you get will really help you on your journey of being a new mum, struggling to take in and understand what’s right and what’s wrong, well that’s what I felt and thought for the first 2-3weeks!
I have quite high anxiety, and struggled at the start and wondered whether I’d actually be able to do it.

First published on www.facebook.com/breastfeedingtogether as part of the Topic Tuesday series.

Book on any of our antenatal workshops (at www.breastfeedingtogether.co.uk ) and you are going to hear us talk about skin to skin. A lot.

We just can’t get enough of skin to skin at BfT and we won’t be happy until the whole of Wigan (and beyond to be fair!) is aware of the massive benefits it brings. It’s now encouraged to have your baby delivered straight in to skin to skin, and you can absolutely have skin to skin if you deliver via caesarean. It’s your prize after birthing your baby, and the most natural and beautiful way to meet them.

Skin to skin biologically makes sense. When all we had were our loin cloths, our prehistoric ancestors would have held their offspring tightly against them after birth to keep them warm, safe and secure. Three of the big benefits right there. Mum’s body is so in tune with her new born, that her chest will heat up or cool down accordingly to help regulate baby’s temperature. Held against mum’s chest, oxytocin will be released in both mum and baby, helping that bonding that’s been happening during pregnancy to continue- it also is one of the hormones involved in breastfeeding so it’s a perfect time to offer that first breastfeed In fact, many babies who are left ‘unattended’ in the vicinity of a breast will bob down and have a bash with very little effort from you!

In skin to skin baby can also hear your heartbeat, a very safe and familiar sound from their time in the womb, your hearts will even start to beat in time whilst you’re in skin to skin, regulating your heartbeats and calming you both- how amazing is that? It’s not just beneficial for mum either. Dads, partners, siblings can all get involved, and help with one of the other benefits- the colonization of healthy bacteria! Sounds scientific- and it is, but it’s really just about us rubbing all the lovely healthy bugs and good bacteria from our skin on to the skin of our rather sterile new born and helping to kick start their immune system.

Skin to skin helps to regulate baby’s blood sugars, mums blood loss, it can wake a sleepy baby up and encourage them to feed, it can settle a fractious baby down in seconds, it’s a fantastic way to reconnect with baby if you’ve had time apart…….It’s just magical.

The latest research shows that the benefits of skin to skin are there until your baby is around six years old. And whilst you might not want a fully naked six year old jumping on you, cheeks on chest, arm rubbing or post bath time cuddles can all make it work.

So forgive us for our slight skin to skin obsession, but we’re all about skin to skin for the win!

First published on www.facebook.com/breastfeedingtogether on 24/02/19 as part of the Sharing Sunday series.

Breastfeeding has been the biggest rollercoaster of my life! Little Alfie and I started out fantastic, 2 weeks into our journey his latch slipped as he was not opening his mouth wide enough to feed properly. I became so cracked and sore, I almost threw in the towel. It was too painful to feed so I opted to use nipple shields but he wasn’t gaining weight. I then decided to exclusively express and luckily he took to the bottle straight away! Eventually Alfie was checked for tongue tie and this was the prime cause, it was cut and we were able to return to breastfeeding. It took me a while to heal but it all worked out perfectly in the end. He is coming up to 7 months now and breastfeeding is the best parts of my day! Any problems i’ve had in the meantime (such as a nursing strike after his injections) I’ve reached out on the Facebook page and have been supported ongoing.

First published on www.facebook.com/breastfeedingtogether on 19/2/2019 as part of the Topic Tuesday series.

But. It’s a very little word, that can cause a lot of problems- particularly for breastfeeding mums. It can often shame us, make us doubt ourselves, leave us questioning our decisions and our feeding choices.
How often do we hear……
“I support breastfeeding…….but.

but….
You shouldn’t do it in public
but…..
Why not just express it now?
but….
Not once they are eating solids
but….
Not after they are 6 months
but…..
It needs to be discreet
but…..
It wasn’t for me
but….
Fed is best.
But.. But….But….

Unfortunately babies don’t know if you are in public or not, they’ve got to eat!

Expressing can be hard work, and many mums don’t have the time or inclination to express, especially when baby prefers it straight from the source.

Milk remains babies’ main source of nutrition until they are one, so they absolutely still need the milk, but also still need everything else they get from breastfeeding- security, reassurance, comfort and love.

Some women prefer to feed discretely, some find getting more of their breast out ensures baby gets a nice deep latch and therefore a more comfortable and effective feed. A mother who gets her breast out isn’t doing anything other than feeding her baby in the way that works best for her and her baby.

And that’s fine, if breastfeeding wasn’t for you, but it is for this mum, so just tell her you support her.

Fed isn’t best. Fed is the bare minimum, it’s what’s expected and needed for survival. Being informed is best. Making an informed feeding choice. Being informed of the benefits, about how to make breastfeeding work and being supported in doing so.

There should never be a but with breastfeeding. Women should be supported to breastfeed if that is their feeding choice. Women don’t need more barriers in their way.
Let’s simply support breastfeeding each and every time we see it, and hopefully society will catch up, and ‘but out’ of our breastfeeding!

Photo by @itsmeguilty

First published on www.facebook.com/breastfeedingtogether on 17/01/2019 as part of the Sharing Sunday series.

Breastfeeding hasn’t worked out as I’d planned. I tried and tried to get my son (Arthur) onto the boob, but he wouldn’t latch on and feed as I’d hoped he would. I also struggled finding a comfortable feeding position. However, I was determined to give my son my milk, so in hospital I syringe fed my baby after hand expressing, whilst having plenty of skin-to-skin contact.

When we got home I knew we needed help, as I was aware that syringe feeding wasn’t a long-term feeding solution and we were still struggling to breast feed. I called Breastfeeding Together and a peer supporter came out to see us that day and helped myself and my partner to come up with a feeding plan. I would continue to express milk and feed it to my baby using a bottle and I’d also get some nipple shields to help my baby to latch onto my breast. We had a peer supporter visit us every day that week and I also used the connect and share group to ask others for advice on everything from breast pumps to power expressing. The support was invaluable.

Arthur is now 7 weeks old and feeding him directly from the breast is still proving tricky, so I predominantly use an electric pump to express milk for my little boy. However, at night, in the nursing chair, I’m still attempting to feed my son directly from the breast using the nipple shields. I hope that over time, he will feed from the breast more often, but in the meantime, whilst we’re figuring it out, I’m so happy that I’ve been able to find an alternative way of giving my baby the gift of my milk.

This journey hasn’t been easy and if it wasn’t for the peer supporters and the connect and share group, I’d have had no choice but to give up. I’m so grateful to Breastfeeding Together for helping me to find a way of feeding my baby that I’m happy and comfortable with.